Bill or invoice file.



No. 788,023. PATENTED APR. 25, 1905. B. COUCH & J. D. KNEEDLER. BILL 0RINVOICE FILE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 31, 1904.

2 BHEETSBHBET 1.

N0. 788,023. PATENTED APR. 25,' 1905. B. COUCH & J. D. KNEEDLER.

BILL OR INVOICE FILE.

APPLIOATION FILED MAR. 31, 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

bill-tile complete ready for use.

Patented April 25, 1905.

UNTTED STATES PATENT OEEIcE.

BUEL COUCH AND JOHN D. KNEEDLER, OF SIOUX CITY, IOIVA.

BILL OR INVOICE FILE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 788,023, dated April25, 1905.

Application filed March 31,1904. Serial No. 200,979.

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that we, BUnL CoUon and JOHN D. l\'NnnpLi-:n, citizens ofthe United States, residing atSiouX City, in the countyof \Voodbury andState of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Billor Invoice Files; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

Our invention relates to what may be termed an invoice and bill file,which willbe found very desirable and valuable for temporarily holdingand tiling away valuable papers, as letters, invoices, bill-heads, andthe like; and our invention consists of certain novel features ofcombination and construction of parts, as will be hereinafter fully setforth, and pointed out in the claims hereunto appended.

The main object of our invention is to provide a tile or holding deviceof the character specified which will be found to be thoroughly reliableand efiicient in the performance of its ofiice and which may be veryconveniently operated to introduce one or a number of letters, invoices,or the like and permitthe same to be quickly withdrawn therefrom asdesired.

A further object of our invention is to provide an appliance of thecharacter set forth by means of -which bills, invoices, and other papersmay be readily liled away in book form. and thus rendered easilyaccessible and capable of being easily carried or moved from one placeto another without liability of separating the assembled invoices,bills, or other papers.

Other objects and advantages will be fully set forth in thefollowingspecification considered in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, which are made a part thereof, and in which--- Figure 1 showsa perspective view of our Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the upperportion of the casing removed and also showing the interior workingparts of our appliance separated from the casing.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of our bill-tile proper separated from itshouslng or book-like cover. Fig. t 18 a similar view to that presentedin Fig. 3, showing the upper part of the casingcut away and the outerposts separated from engagement with the inner post-s. Fig. 5 is asectional view of Fig. 3 on line 5 5. Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sectiontaken on line 6 6 of Fi 3. Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken on line A 7of Fig. 1.

The various parts of our invention and also thecooperating elements willfor convenience be referred to by designating-numerals, it beingunderstood that each numeral refers to a corresponding part throughoutthe drawings.

Referring to the numerals on the drawings, 1 indicates the bottomportion of the casing, said bottom portion having at its ends cleats orflanges 2, so formed upon their inner edges that the recesses 3 will beprovided. Designed to fit in the recesses 3 is the movable plate t,which has erected thereon the rigidly-mounted standards or bill-hooks 5,said standards being either pointedor provided with a socket tocooperate with or properly engage the ends of the complementarystandards or brackets 6, which are permanently secured in place by beingentered in suitable apertures 7,provided in the flange or rib section 8,as clearly shown in Fig. 2 and other views. '0 also provide for thecasing thus or otherwise formed the lid-section 9, held in place as bythe screws or rivets 10, it being-understood that said lidsection shallbe provided with suitable apertures adapted to register with theapertures T, whereby the lower ends of the hook members 6 may bereliably anchored in place in any preferred way.

In order that the plate a may be reliably placed under the control ofthe operator, we provide the controlling-bar 11, having upon one sidethe extensions or fingers 12 and 13 and also having upon the oppositeedge the extension 11. The extensions 12 and 13 are each provided with adownwardly-directed lug 15, while the extension 1% is provided with asimilarly-directed lug 16, the lugs 15 being designed to take into theobliquely-disposed slots 17, formed in the movable plate 4, while thelug16 is disposed in the longitudinal slot 18, formed in a contiguous partof the bottom section 1, the rib or flange 8 being cut away to providea'place therefor, as will be readily understood by reference to Fig. 2.

It will be understood that the controllingbar 11 is of sufficient lengthto extend outward through a suitable slot formed in a proper part of thefiange 2, the extreme end of said arm being provided with a suitablehandle, which in this instance comprises the inwardly-directed parallellips 19, adapted to rest upon either side of the casing, whereby it maybe conveniently grasped by the thumb and finger of the operator.

By the construction hereinbefore presented and illustrated in thedrawings it will be obvious that we have provided simple thoughreliablyefiicient controlling means for the outer hook members 5,inasmuch as an outward pull upon the handle 19 will withdraw the bar 11and cause the lugs 14 and 15 to travel in their respective slots,thereby forcing the plate 1 to move outward, suitable slots 20 beingprovided in the outer edge of the lid-section 9, whereby the posts maybe moved inwardly or outwardly, as required.

l/Ve also provide a book-like cover 21, having suitable slots 22,whereby the upper free ends of the hook members 5 and 6 may becompensated for and permitted to protrude therethrough, the said coverresting directly upon and protecting the bills, invoices, and otherpapers interposed between the covers.

It will be understood that the ends of the hook members 5 may be pointedto take into conical seats provided in the members 6, or vice versa, asmay be deemed productive of the best results.

It will thus be observed that we have provided a very compact andreliable form of invoice and bill holder, the parts of which may be verycheaply and expeditiously manufactured and each assembled in itsrespective operative position, and while we have described the preferredcombination and construction of each part presented we wish to reservethe right to make such reasonable modifications and changes as may beregarded as falling fairly within the scope and purview of ourinvention.

Obviously our invention may be easily controlled or operated, as allthat is reduired when it is desired to introduce or remove a bill orinvoice or other paper engaged by the hooks 5 and 6 is to withdraw thebar 11 sufficiently to force the plate 4 outward and incidentallyseparate said hook members 5 and 6 a proper distance to admit thereception of any papers or the removal thereof, as may be desired. Afterthe papers have been removed or disposed in place over the hooks 5 thebar 11 is forced inward through the mediation of the controlling-handle19, when the said bill-hooks 5 and 6 will be brought into engagementwith each other, when it will be impossible for the papers to becomecasually disengaged.

It is obvious that the cover-section 21 may be made of proper size toaccommodate the size of the papers to be inclosed therein. It is,furthermore, apparent that our improved bill and invoice file may alsobe made of any desired size and of any preferred material deemed mostsuitable for the purpose, and believing that the advantages and mannerof using our invention have thus been made clearly apparent furtherdescription is deemed unnecessary.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The herein-described bill and invoice file comprising a casing havinga pair of hook members 6 rigidly mounted thereon, a plate laterallymovable and mounted in said casing and having the bill-hooks 5complementary to the hook members 6, means to move said plate and thebill-hooks carried thereby inward or outward comprising a bar havingfingers upon one side thereof, downwardly-directed lugs secured to theouter ends of said fingers and adapted to engage obliquely-disposedslots in said plate, and an extension 14 upon the opposite side of saidbar having a lug adapted to engage a longitudinal slot in the casing,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The herein-described bill and invoice file for papers of anycharacter, comprising a suitable casing, a movable plate at mounted insaid casing, hook members 6 rigidly secured to said casing andadditional hooks 5 carried by said movable plate, a controlling-barhaving obliquely-disposed extensions, lugs secured to the outer ends ofsaid extensions adapted to engage obliquely-disposed slots in said plateand a member 14 having a depending lug adapted to engage a longitudinalslot in the casing whereby, when said bar is moved longitudinallyoutward, said bar will be held against lateral movement and the platemoved from the casing and the paper-engaging devices separated, allcombined substantially as set forth.

3. A bill and invoice file comprising a suitable casing having recesses3 in the end sections thereof, hook members 6 rigidly secured to saidcasing, a plate mounted in said casing the ends thereof taking into saidrecesses and slidable transversely therein, bill-hooks 5 carried by saidplate and protruding through the casing, a bar longitudinally, movablysecured in said casing, said bar having a pair of obliquelydisposed armsprotruding from one side thereof, said arms having depending lugsadapted IIO to engage obliquely-disposed slots in said names to thisspecilieation in the presence of plate, and an extension 14 protrudingfrom two subserlbing witnesses.

the opposite side of said bar, also having a de- BUEL COUCH. pending lugto engage a longitudinal slot in JOHN D. KNEEDLER. 5 the casing,substantially as and for the pur- Vitnesses:

pOse set forth. I JOHN A. BERRY,

In testimony whereof We have signed our 1 HUGO ASNUS.

